I am new here and I'm hoping all of you may be able to answer my question. We recently added Murphy to our family. He is an 11 1/2 week old Border Collie that we got when he was 7 1/2 weeks old. He is a wonderful puppy and extremely smart but my problem is this - i have never had to housebreak a puppy. All the dogs I've had in my life have been rescues so this is new to me. I know the basics - he is crate trained and I take him outside after everything (eating, drinking, playing, sleeping) and have him "GO POTTY". He does this very well however he still has accidents in the house in specific spots. He starts puppy training on Saturday but I'm wondering if there isn't someting else I should be doing to do help him out. I know it takes time and patience, I just want to make sure I'm even on the right track.

I live in a house with a full size back yard and I have 2 young children. Sorry, this is so winded just trying to make sure I am making sense. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

As long as your puppy is "allowed" to go in the house, you'll have a hard time housetraining him.

The point is to prevent accidents from ever happening. When you can't watch him like a hawk, either confine him, or attach his leash to you. That way, at the first sign that he needs to go (sniffing, circling) you can whisk him outside and praise like crazy when he goes. Never ever punish or scold him for accidents in the house, cause they are not his fault, but yours.

Yes, time and patience are the most important things, but they won't work if you are giving him the opportunity to eliminate in the house, because this is very confusing to him. Each time he "goes" in the house, that behaviour is reinforced, simply because it feels good!

Do not leave him loose in the house for even 5 minutes, unless you know for sure he is "empty". He can have a little free play time in an area where you can supervise right after he does his business outside.

Some puppies train faster than others, but it might be 6 months or more until he is reliable. Also, clean the spots he has used with something like Nature's Miracle, to get the odour out.

So this means that aside from a few minutes of play time allowed after he is, as you say, "empty", that he really needs to be on the leash or in his crate. He had been doing so well that I had thought I could let him play or be out without a lease. I am not fast enough to catch him when we are playing and I see him start to sniff ( he's a fast one!!).

When I put the lease on him is it okay to keep him with me or do I have to fasten him to a stationary spot? What do I do if he constantly tries to eat his leash?